Contending Issues in the Niger Delta Crisis of Nigeria - Journal of ...

Olawale Olaopa, Ibikunle Ogundari, Mike Awoleye, and Willie Siyanbola
due to limited capacity of private sector which emanates from mass
poverty as earlier analysed (Ibid). Also, effective regulation is lacking
given the various rigidities and distortions in the Nigerian economy
which prevent efficient functioning of the market system. Given this,
it may be difficult for deregulation and privatization policies to be
effective in Nigeria.
For privatization to be effective there is need for transparency
and accountability in its execution and implementation. It has been
claimed that the sales of enterprises should be made transparent by
adopting competitive bidding procedures; developing objective criteria
for selecting bids and creating a clear focal point with minimal
bureaucracy to monitor the overall programme. In Nigeria, lack of
transparency and accountability are the major problems facing our
economy. For instance, it has been consistently claimed that the
number of barrels being produced can still not been ascertained.
Abuses and corruption are the main reasons for the poor performance
of the oil sector and public enterprises. Since these evils are still
prevalent in Nigerian economy, there is no doubt that they will affect
and hinder the privatization and deregulation exercises. For instance,
in Guinea and Poland, lack of transparency in privatization policy
implementation has halted its execution and caused backlash
respectively. In this regard, the capital market has a significant role to
play in the privatization process (Ajisafe, Saibu and Adedokun, 2005).
This is so in that utilizing the stock exchange enhances the credibility
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